Hundreds of frenzied panic-buyers have descended on supermarkets across Sydney's eastern suburbs to stockpile toilet paper and food, despite no shops closing over the seven day lockdown.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian imposed the stay-at-home order on Friday morning after the state recorded 11 new local Covid cases with a further 17 to be included in tomorrow's numbers.
The lockdown, which will come into force from midnight and last seven days, applies to people who live or work in the Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney council areas.
Photos of panic-buyers have already been plastered online, despite Ms Berejiklian calling for calm.
'Please don't panic buy. There is no need for that. You can go out and buy anything you need any time of the day. We don't have curfew, we don't have anything like that,' she on Friday after announcing the new stay at home order.
Hundreds of mask-wearing customers were packed tightly into Woolworths in Double Bay within just hours of the announcement.
Hundreds of mask-wearing customers were packed tightly into Woolworths in Double Bay within just hours of the stay at home announcement
No major supermarkets have re-introduced buying limits on toilet paper, but frustrated shoppers have called out others for stockpiling. Left: Bondi, right: Wollongong
Photos of panic-buyers have already been plastered online, despite Ms Berejiklian calling for calm. Pictured: Woolworths Double Bay
A shopper captured a photo of Coles in Bondi Junction where the toilet paper aisle had been already wiped clean.
The panic buying spread as far south as Wollongong, despite no lockdown being imposed in the Illawarra region.
No major supermarkets have re-introduced buying limits on toilet paper, but frustrated shoppers have called out others for stockpiling.
'Not panic buying toilet paper again Sydney,' one person wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of empty supermarket shelves.
'I am still wondering why do people think toilet paper needs to be completely collected off the shelf every time there is a lockdown?' another tweeted.
Eleven of the cases were detected in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday night, six of which were already reported. There were 17 further infections which will be recorded in Saturday's tally.
There are now 65 cases linked to the Bondi cluster that erupted in the city's east last week.
In scenes reminiscent of the first wave of Covid in March 2020, Coles and Woolworths shelves across Sydney have again been stripped bare of loo roll
Frustrated shoppers have called out others for once again stockpiling toilet paper
The lockdown applies to residents who live or have worked part-time or full-time in the hotspot suburbs (pictured) in the past two weeks
Residents and visitors to the Eastern suburbs continue to get tested for COVID-19 at St Vincent's Hospital pop-up testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Friday
People who live or work in the four LGAs will not be able to leave home for a week except for essential purposes.
These include work or education, shopping, providing care or outside exercise.
'If you live or work in those Local Government Areas, you need to stay at home unless absolutely necessary,' Ms Berejiklian said.
Ms Berejiklian warned the lockdown could be extended to more suburbs if required.
'There will be things that come up in the next little while that none of us had anticipated and we will have to react and respond.
'We are not ever going to pretend that what we have in place is enough, or what we have in place is perfect,' she said.
Australian Medical Association boss Dr Omar Khorshid called for the whole of Sydney to be locked down, saying the rules 'are not quite enough'.
'We need everyone in Sydney to do the right thing and stay at home,' he said.
Chief Health
